The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1887-05-28
IRISH DANCING.MASTERS.

(From r. Shelton McKenzie's bits of Barney }
Five and twenty years ago, when 1
left Ireland, the original or aboriginal
race of county dancing masters was
nearly extinct. By this time, l pre-
sumo, it has almost died out. Here
and there few may be seen,
.'Rari nantes in gureite vasto,"
but the light-heeled, light-hearted jov-
ial, genial fellows who were actual
Masters OF the Revels in the district to
which they respectfully belonged, are
nowhere.
There used to be as much pride land
property in a village dancing master
as in village schoolmaster, in my
young days, and I have heard of ''many
accidents by flood and field" caused by
attempts to remove dancing-maste
or a pedagogue, of high reputation,
from one district to another. In such
cases, the very abduction being the
strongest possible compliment to his
renown, the person who was s'enticed
away by FORCE" always made point OF
Offering no resistance, and would pas
sively and proudly await the result.
Indeed, care was always taken that
such removal should be actual prefer
ment, as, to ameliorate his condition,
the residence provided for him in the
new village, township. or barony, was
ALWAYS better than that from which he
was removed.
Asa general rule, the abduction OF
schoolmasters was a favorite practice
in Kerry-where every man and boy is
supposed to speak Latin-while stolen
dancing-masters did not abound in the
neighbouring counties Of Cork and
Limerick. The natural inference is
that the County Kerry-men preferred
the culture of the head, while the
others rather cared for the culture Of
the heels.
To have a first-rate hedge-schoolmas-
ter was credit to any parish. To have
engrossed the services of an eminent
maitre de da1se was almost matter of
considerable pride and boasting, but to
possess both of these treasures was in
deed triumph.
There was more pride, perhaps, in
having schoolmaster of great repute-
more pleasure of owning dancer OF
high renown. The book.man was never
known to dance. and the village Yes
iris was rarely able to write his name.
Thus they never clashed. One ruled
by day, and the other had unquestioned
sovereignty in the hours between dusk
and dawn.
Such a being as youthful dancing
master never. saw-never heard OF.
They were invariably middle-aged men,
at the youngest; but professors Of 1.-THE
poetry of notion who were about
seventy, appeared the greatest favour
ties. 1t was dreaded, perhaps, that the
attraction of youth and good dancing
combined would be too much for the
village beauties to resist. On the same
system, in all probability, it was sine
qua non that the dancing master should
be married.
The Irish peasantry used to have a
sort of passion for dancing. Hence the
necessity for a teacher. On stated
evenings during the winter, no matter
what obstacles wet weather or dirty
roads might present, a large company
of pupils, from the age of ten to forty
years, would assemble in some roomy
barn, possessing smooth and hard
floor of closely pounded clay, to receive
instructions in the saltatory art. Some
times, when the teacher was ambitious,
he would f1ourishingly open the pro-
ceedings with what was called "a bit OF
noration, 1.-THE oratory principally
consisting of sesquipedalian words and
NEUROLOGICAL illusions, being composed
by the oolmaster utterly unintelli-
gible, but sounding largely, and deliv-
cred in an ore rotundo manner and with
"a loudable voice." as if the dancing
master really understood the words he
uttered. Not taking particular pains
to follow ''copy," and frequently put